Lurking in the Shadows
by Regnig-oftheblackforest
Summary: When Ray Hamilton disapears, his wife Sarah becomes the prime suspect. But her stepson doesn't believe it. He suspects Hamilton's new assistant, who seems to look at his bosses wife with more than a professional eye...
1. The Meeting

A/N: I'm sneaking on my aunt's computer to post this. My mom will be pissed if she catches me, so I've got to type fast before I'm missed. I really wasn't expecting to be able to have access to computers while on vacation, but I've been pleasantly surprised. So I bet you're all waiting for the next chapter of Haunted, right? Well, unfortunately, I'm having a little trouble with it. sigh

So to pass the time, and maybe inspire something, I'm going to start a new story. I've had this idea in mind for a while now, and now it comes to fruition. WARNING: This is a very dark fic. This is me letting out all the dark Jareth I've held back in haunted -yes, you read that right, held back- and it feels really good. So, without further ado, please read and enjoy

**_Lurking in the Shadows_**

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Raymond Hamilton sat at his desk, inspecting his latest figures. He was an attractive man in his early fifties, fit, swarthy skinned, his dark curls flecked with silver. He was one of the wealthiest men in the state, used to having the best of everything.

He silently read over the figures, nodding to himself. They seemed to be in perfect order, as they always were. He made sure that only the best, smartest, and most competent were permitted to work in his company. He signed the bottom of the paper, and set it aside. He sighed, and spun his chair around to face the window. He looked down at the valley below, the steep cliffs, acres of towering trees, and the river winding off into the distance.

The beep of his intercom brought him back to reality. He whirled back around, and pushed the secretary button. "Yes, Eleanor?"

"Mr. Hamilton, your three o'clock is here," the flighty voice said on the other side.

"Send him in," he said, sitting up straight, and quickly smoothing his hair out. The office door opened, and in walked the new applicant for the coveted position as his assistant. He wanted someone to oversee some of his affairs, so he could spend more time at home with his family. He rose, and thrust his hand out.

"Good Afternoon. I am Jay Rhett," the man said, his voice cold and clipped.

"Raymond Hamilton," the older man said, grasping his visitor's gloved hand, and shaking it firmly. He looked the applicant head to foot, scrutinizing the man. He was not so tall as he was, his hair ash blond, longer than he liked, but slicked back so the overall effect was rather distinguished. He was dressed in a dark suit, his hands were covered in black leather gloves. The man's most striking feature, however, were his eyes. They were two different colors, one dark, one blue. They glittered with an icy stiffness, a quality Hamilton didn't typically like his employees to have.

The two men sat opposite each other. Hamilton took out his file, and looked it over.

"So Mr. Rhett. What do you think qualifies you to be my new assistant?"

"I have plenty of leadership experience. I worked for a company back home, where the people I supervised had the intellectual capacity of a sack of rocks."

"Back home, you say? Where exactly is that, I don't see it on your resume," Hamilton asked, staring intently at Rhett.

"Overseas. Manchester, England."

"I see. It says here that you are a graduate of Oxford? That's... impressive."

"Thank you, Mr. Hamilton," he said, never taking his eyes off the man before him. Hamilton continued to read through the resume. Rhett took the opportunity to take a look at the photos on Hamilton's desk. There was a photo of a pretty redhaired woman, holding a handsome dark haired baby boy, photo of Hamilton holding another baby, a young man standing beside him, and a photo of a lovely young woman, with dark hair and green eyes. Hamilton noticed where Rhett's gaze had turned.

"My family," he said simply.

"And a lovely one, Mr. Hamilton. Which one is your wife?"

"Both. The red head is my first wife, Lauren. She passed away when our second son, Theodore was born. The brunette is my wife of a year, Sarah."

"She's beautiful, Mr. Hamilton, but if you don't mind me saying, she seems awfully young."

"Twenty five. You know, a lot of people don't like that I married a woman so much younger than myself, but I frankly don't see the problem. Sarah isn't a gold digging tramp, and we are really in love."

"What does age have to do with love, anyway. Age is a meaning less number, and love is eternal," Rhett said wisely, glancing at the young woman's photo again.

"A romantic, and an aggressive business man," Hamilton said, nodding in approval, "I like your style, Rhett. I think I've made my decision. Welcome to Hamilton Systems." He got to his feet, and Rhett did the same. The two men shook hands, and Rhett turned on his heels and stalked out of the office.

"You are a lucky man, Mr. Hamilton. Handsome sons, a pretty wife, and rich to boot. You should watch your back, people must want what you have."

"I'm not worried," Hamilton said simply, going back to his figures. Rhett smiled coldly, and closed the office door behind him.

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A/N: And that was chapter one. A bumpy start, but it will get better. I promise.

I'm guessing that you guys aren't idiots, and know full well who Jay Rhett is... what is he doing working for Sarah's husband?

Please Review!


	2. The Big News

A/N: New chapter!

Labyrinth belongs to the Jim Henson Company.

**_Lurking in the Shadows_**

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Sarah Hamilton stood at the head of the table, looking over her setting with satisfaction. She had used her best french bone china for tonight, for this was a special night. She had gotten some wonderful news that afternoon, and she wanted everything to be perfect.

She wandered out of the dining room, and into the spacious front hall. She called for her stepson, "Teddy, get down here!"

"What do you want?" came the muffled reply.

"Come down here, dinner's almost ready." She heard thunderous footsteps as he ran out of his room. A moment later, the scrawny, red-haired twelve year old came barreling down the stairs. He slid to a stop in front of Sarah, panting and sweating. Sarah smiled, and rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean you had to fly down here, you know. You could have gotten hurt."

"But I didn't," Teddy said, his brown eyes twinkling up at her. Sarah shook her head, and went back into the dining room, Teddy on her heels. He gave a whistle at the sight of the table setting. "Ooh, fancy."

"It's a special night. Your brother should be here soon, and as soon as your father gets home, we'll eat."

"What's so special about tonight?"

"I got some news this afternoon."

"What kinda news?" Teddy said, taking a seat at the table.

"You'll just have to wait and see. Now just so we're clear, Ian's favorite is lasagna, right?"

"Yup, but why do you care?"

"Well, I have a feeling that he isn't going to be to thrilled with my news, and I want to get on his good side with dinner."

"You know, Sarah, Ian treats you like crap. Don't try to make him happy if he's just going to be a douche."

Theodore, watch your language!"

"Sorry, Sarah," he said, with a mocking tone.

Sarah shot him a look, and stalked off into the kitchen. She opened the oven door, and peeked inside at the dish inside. The cheese was bubbling, so she grabbed her oven mitts, and pulled the pan from the oven. She quickly, but carefully but carried it to the table, and set it down in the center.

"Good lord, that's hot!" she said, pulling off the mitts.

"Yeah, you ought to be careful. Wouldn't want the Stepford wife to burn herself," a voice sneered from behind her. Sarah turned to see her twenty eight year old stepson Ian, gracing her with his usual look of distaste that he seemed to reserve just for her.

"Ian, lay off. What did Sarah ever do to you?" Teddy snapped, glaring at his older brother.

"Hello, Ian. I'm glad you could come," she said, giving the sour young man an inviting smile.

"Well, you said you had big news that the whole family should hear, so I figured that I ought to make an appearance," he said, his dark eyes hard. He was the very opposite of his brother, his hair was jet black, his skin swarthy, tall and well filled out. He was the spitting image of her husband, Raymond. He brushed her aside, and sat at the table beside Teddy, still giving Sarah his killer look.

She heard Raymond come in, and she ran to greet him. She took his coat, and tossed it on a chair near the living room door. Her smiled down at her, and gently kissed her on the cheek.

"Dinner's ready, honey," she said, pulling him into the dining room.

"Smells great, Sarah," he said, taking a seat at the head of the table. "Howdy, boys," he said, beaming at his sons. The boys gave a simultaneous little wave, as Sarah sat beside Raymond. They all scooped out a helping of lasagna, and started eating.

"This is really good, Honey," Raymond mumbled, his mouth full.

"Thanks. It's my stepmother's recipe."

"Mine's greasy," Ian said.

"No, it's perfect," Teddy said with a scowl.

"Maybe if I dab it a little with my napkin," he said, smirking at Sarah. He seemed oblivious to the murderous glares that his brother and father were giving him. Sarah ignored him, and played with her food nervously.

"So, Ray. You know I had my doctors appointment this afternoon."

"Oh yeah. How'd that go?"

"Well, I got some news..."

"Oh god. Must you talk about that here?" Ian said with a groan.

"What are you going on about, Ian?" Raymond demanded.

"The last thing on earth I want to hear about when I'm eating my favorite food is my stepmother's V.D."

"I do not have V.D!" Sarah snarled.

"She does not have V.D, Ian Vincent," Raymond snapped, glaring at his son.

"What's V.D?" Teddy asked.

"Never you mind," Raymond said, "Ian, apologize to Sarah."

"Ray, it's okay..."

"No it isn't. You were trying to tell us something, and he interrupted."

"Sorry Sarah," Ian mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"That's okay. Anyway, Teddy, you know how you're always complaining about being the youngest in the family?"

"Yeah, it blows."

"Well, I found out this afternoon that... I'm pregnant!"

"What?" the three men gasped at the same time. She heard the sound of glass shattering, and looked around to see who dropped the glass, but was surprised to see that all four glasses were intact. She seemed to be the only one who heard it, too. Where on earth had it come from?

"I'm pregnant."

Ian opened his mouth, but grunted in pain before he could say anything. Teddy smirked, and said, "That's awesome!"

"That's really wonderful, Sarah," Raymond said, obviously still in shock. Sarah smiled hesitantly. Raymond's cell phone went off, and he quickly grabbed it. He smiled sheepishly at Sarah, who rolled her eyes and waved for him to go. He mouthed 'sorry' on his way out. The three sat in silence for a moment, before Sarah looked up at Ian, and asked,

"So you like my lasagna?"

"Huh?" Ian said, confused.

"You said it's you favorite food... so..."

"Sub-par lasagna is still lasagna," he snapped, finishing it off.

"You want me to take that?" she asked. He nodded and she rose, and snatched it. Teddy handed her his, and she took them into the kitchen.

"Why are you so mean to her?" Teddy demanded. Ian looked down at him.

"I don't know. I just don't like the fact that she's so much younger than Dad. I mean, for Christ's sake, she's three years younger than me."

"She's super nice, though. And she likes us. That's a step above stepmother number one, she hated us."

"Well, Jaclyn was a gold digging whore. Sarah just bugs me. She's too... I don't know. They just really rushed into it. I think they just acted on lust, as opposed to actual love. I mean, one month, she's your English teacher, the next, she's your mom? That must have been one hell of a parent-teacher conference."

"Lay off. I'm happy for them, and I think if a twelve year old can deal with it, you should be able to."

"The fact that their having a kid doesn't bother you at all? Teddy, men Dad's age don't have kids. They have grand kids."

"Well our Dad's having a kid, so get over it, and stop being an ass."

"Whatever," he said, taking a sip of his drink. Teddy's glare softened, and he looked at his brother thoughtfully.

"Ian, what's V.D?"

Ian choked on his drink. He wiped the front of his shirt, and stared at his younger brother. "Trust me, kid, you don't want to know."

"You know, I get really sick of that. Just because I'm young, people think I need to be protected."

Ian considered him for a moment, then whispered into his ear. Teddy's eyes grew wide, and he gave a shudder.

"Oh my god, adults are so gross!"

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That night, Sarah came out of the bathroom, clad in her skimpy pink nightie. Raymond sat on the edge of their bed, staring at the floor. She scooted up behind him, and put her arms around him.

"Honey, are you all right?"

"I'm great, Sarah, just a little surprised. A baby."

"Isn't it? You're really happy?"

"Ecstatic. And isn't it lucky that I just hired a new assistant, so I'll have more time to spend with you and Teddy and the baby?"

"You finally filled the position?"

"Yeah. There's just something I like about this Rhett guy. He just seeps charisma."

"Well, I'm glad. I miss you so much when you're gone."

"Don't worry. With any luck, I won't have to leave you and the kids ever again..."

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A/N: I finally updated! Yayness! I'm going to work on this for a little while, then I'm going to go back to Haunted for a while.

Review. I enjoy feedback, be it good or bad.


	3. Wicked Intentions

A/N: Labyrinth belongs to the Jim Henson Company, and last time I checked, that wasn't me.

**_Lurking in the Shadows_**

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In the whole wide universe, there is nothing we humans fear more than the darkness. Not because the darkness itself is frightening, but because we fear the unknown dangers that lay hidden in the dark.

Jareth, however, was not human. The darkness was his sanctuary, his life, his fate. He thrived in fear, and lurked in the darkest shadows, relishing in the terror he caused. But no amount of torturing humans could lift the burden of his heart. He longed for a companion, someone he could keep by his side always. Someone who would both fear and love him. A servant, a queen, and he had the perfect woman in mind. The only human to have ever defeated him, the only one who had not succumb to his infinite power. _Sarah_.

He lay on his bed, watching the mouthwatering little creature sleep, curled up contently against her husband. He glowered at the image. That should have been him there beside her, enjoying her warmth. How he hated that man, the man who had stolen away his Sarah. And now, now they were going to have a child.

He had watched the whole scene at dinner that night, laughed at the feisty Teddy, felt smug about Ian's well justified disdain to the unfaithful little tramp. He often made trouble in Sarah's life, caused little mishaps in hopes that she would slip up, and summon him back into her life. But over the years, her memories and imagination had begun to wane. She stopped believing in magic, as all humans do eventually, and had settled down in hopes of living a comfortable human life. One look in her eyes, and Jareth could easily see that his world, his subjects, and he himself had faded from her mind.

He had grown desprate in the past few years, knowing that he had to save her from the droll human world, before she completely lost her spark. He had developed a plan, a plan to get closer to her, and sweep her away, from right under the nose of that disgusting husband of hers. He had even taken a job with the husband's company, to get closer to his bounty.

But now this child. Having Hamilton's child would make it difficult to draw her back to him. The news had shocked him so, he had even dropped his crystal in sheer surprise. He cursed her for forgetting him, for denying him ten years ago, for daring to marry another, and bear his child.

An evil thought crossed his mind. The crystal ball vanished from his fingertips, and he rose from his bed. He staggered over to the window, his mind reeling.

What if he removed Hamilton from the picture? Sarah would need a new man, and who better than her husband's _loyal_ assistant to step into his bosses place? The child would have to go, it's older brothers could deal with it. And when he had Sarah's trust, he would bring her back to his castle, and kill Hamilton before Sarah's eyes, proving forever that he was the only one for her, the only man who would do anything for her love.

He looked out over his dark kingdom, smirking at his wicked schemes. Kidnap Raymond Hamilton, take Sarah for himself, and kill his competition. How Sarah would fawn over him, her lovely green eyes looking up at him, adoring, longing. How happy she would be to be rid of her husband, and to be back in the Labyrinth, as Goblin Queen. And oh, the things he would do for her, the wonderful things he would give her.

He sat in the large, round window, watching the citizens of the Goblin City scurry about in the dark. The sun had not shone in his kingdom for so very long, not since the day she left. But he was sure that the minute she returned, so would the light. Such a joyous day it would be, the day his queen finally became his and his alone.

All he had to do was get rid of Ray Hamilton, and he would finally have all he deserved.

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A/N: Uh-oh. Evil plans are afoot...

Please review. And a special thanks to all who have so far.


	4. The Call

A/N: UPDATE! Admit it, you all thought I was dead.

**_Lurking in the Shadows_**

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Raymond Hamilton finished his report, signed it with a flourish, and paged for Rhett. He was very pleased with his newest employee. He had proved extremely helpful, and his business was moving much more quickly, and it had only been two months.

"You called, Mr. Hamilton?" Rhett said, appearing in the doorway.

"Yes. I need you to take these down to accounting for me," he said, handing the file to him. Rhett took it in his gloved hand, and headed back towards the door. "Oh, one more thing, Rhett. I need you to go to that shareholders meeting for me tomorrow. My wife has a doctor's appointment, and I'd like to be there with her."

"A doctor's appointment? Is every thing all right?" Rhett asked.

"Oh yes. Haven't you heard? My wife's expecting."

"Oh no, I hadn't heard that. Congratulations to both of you."

"Thank you," Hamilton said, turning in his chair to face his computer. Rhett glared at him with utmost dislike, then turned and left the office. He worked for a while, before someone standing in the doorway caught his attention. He looked up, and saw Ian standing in the doorway.

"Ian? What are you doing here?"

"Dad, I heard that you changed your will to include Sarah's baby."

"Yes, and?" he asked, not looking up.

"Do I honestly have to tell you that this is a bad idea? I mean, the damn kid's not even born yet."

"You "Me?"know that's funny, Ian, I was under the impression that it was my money, and I could do what I wanted with it."

"Dad, there are so many things that could go wrong. Now that Sarah's got access to a third of your fortune, what's stopping her from taking off with it? Or what if she knocks you off? Free reign, no mess."

"Ian, why must you assume the worst of her? She's nothing but nice to you, and you treat her like shit. You're really behaving like a child. You're twenty eight, act it. And for the record, I've named a trustee, and when Teddy and the baby are old enough, they'll get their share. Not that I'm planning on going anywhere, but you know, it's good to be prepared."

"You named Sarah the trustee? Are you an idiot?" Ian yelled.

"No I'm not. You're the trustee, not Sarah."

"Yes. I was going to name Sarah the trustee, but she convinced me to name you instead."

"Really? Oh, she's good."

"Ian, how did you even find this out?" Hamilton asked, returning his attention to his computer

"Rhett told me last week when you met with your lawyer. He agrees that this is a bad situation, by the way."

"Well now, that's strange. I just spoke to Rhett, and he said he hadn't heard that Sarah was expecting. Whatever, look Ian. If anything happens to me, I expect you to take care of your siblings. Both of them. And Sarah, if she needs it. Understand?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I just don't like the situation," Ian said, turning to leave.

"Point taken, Ian. Get back to work." The younger man left the office, and Raymond was alone again. He could hear the hustle and bustle of the workers outside the office. He typed away at his computer again, trying not to think about the constant battle between his son and wife. He could understand why Ian was disgruntled, but nothing he could do could convince him that Sarah was not some gold digger. He'd been with those in the past, and he knew how to pick them out. He trusted Sarah absolutely, and he just wished his first born would see that.

The phone rang, and he picked it up without looking at it. "Hello?" he said.

There was no answer on the other end, just heavy breathing. "Hello?" he said again, louder and more insistant.

"You'd better keep a closer eye on your pretty wife, Hamilton. Someone might try to take her away from you..." a soft voice hissed into the phone. Hamilton looked over at the phone to see which line the call was coming from, but to his surprise, the call wasn't coming from any of them. All six lights were dark.

"Who is this?" he demanded. The line went dead, and he hung up the phone. "Elenor? Did you just put through a call for me?"

The frizzy grey head of his secretary poked through the door. "No sir, Mr. Hamilton. There haven't been any calls for you all afternoon. Why do you ask?"

"Well just now... never mind. It's not important," he said. She looked at him strangely for a minute, then went back to her duties. He was very confused. The voice didn't sound familiar at all, and it certainly wasn't some dumb kid. He picked up the phone and dialed home. Sarah picked up and answered with a cheerful "Hello!"

"Sarah, is everything all right over there?"

"Yeah, every thing's fine. Teddy's got some friends over, so it's a little noisy, but other than that, fine. Why do ask?"

"No reason. Hey, I'm going to be coming home a little early tonight."

"Why?"

"No reason, I just wanna leave early. Bosses prerogative. And one more thing: Make sure all the doors and windows are locked, and the alarm is on."

"Why? Ray, what's going on?"

"Nothing, really. I'll explain later. Don't leave the house until I get there, and lock up tight. I'll be there in about an hour."

"Okay, bye."

"Love you. Bye." he said, and hung up on his confused wife. He turned back to his computer, determined to finish before he left. He had to get home quickly. It was probably nothing, but he wasn't taking any chances. Nobody threatened his family while he was around.

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A/N: God, I hate that it's been so long since I updated. I don't even know if anyone is still following it. So if you are, please leave a review. I PROMISE that I'll update sooner from now on. Life's just been so... you know.

Thank you for reading!


	5. The Intruder

A/N: I do not own Labyrinth. It belongs to the Jim Henson Company.

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**_Lurking in the Shadows_**

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Ray was turning down the covers of their bed, while Sarah took a shower. He couldn't get that call out of his head, that voice, the threat to his wife. When he had returned that afternoon, Sarah had been fine, if a little harried from the rowdy twelve year olds running amok through the house. She was curious,of course, about his odd behavior, but he hadn't told her about the call. The last thing she needed in her delicate state was this kind of stress.

He climbed into bed, as Sarah came out of the bathroom, still damp beneath her nightgown. She smiled as she rubbed her hair with a towel. He gave her a half hearted smile back. Her face fell. She tossed the towel into the hamper by the door, and sat beside him.

"Raymond, are you sure you're all right?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Sarah. Really."

"Ray, I know you're lying to me. You're a horrible liar. Now I mean it, what's wrong? Are you mad at me or something?"

"No, no, no! It isn't like that. I got a call at work today..."

Sarah nodded. "And..."

"Some it was some jackass who said... said to keep an eye on you, or something bad would happen."

"And you're worried?"

"Well of course! You're pregnant, for god sakes. If something were to happen, I'd never forgive myself."

"Oh Ray, I don't think we have anything to worry about. It was probably just some prank call. Did you know them?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, did you recognize the voice or the number?"

Ray laid down, and pulled the blankets up. "You know, that's the weird thing. The call didn't come over any of my lines. And Eleanor said she didn't put any calls through."

"Hmm, that's odd. But still, I wouldn't be too worried."

Ray sighed, and rolled over. Sarah smiled and leaned over him, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Come on now, cheer up."

"And how do propose I do that?" he asked, rolling back onto his back and cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, I have a few ideas..." she said, before placing her lips on his.

**_*CRASH*_**

A loud noise came from down stairs. The two sat up and listened.

_***THUMP***_

"What is that?" Sarah asked, as Ray got out of the bed. He reached under the bed, and pulled out a bat. "I don't know."

"Well then, put the bat down, for Christ's sake! The alarm didn't go off, so it's probably just Teddy."

"Maybe... I'll go check."

"Okay, but don't hit until you're sure it's not him!"

"All right, all right."

**_*Crash*_**

Teddy appeared in their doorway, also holding a bat. "I heard something downstairs..." he whispered. Sarah got up, and she and Ray snuck towards the door.

"Sarah and Teddy, stay here. I'm going to go take a look," Ray whispered.

"No, I want to help you beat up a burglar!" Teddy groaned. Ray shot his son a cold look, and he clammed up immediately.

"Ray, you are not going down there alone! What if there's more than one? What if they're armed?" Sarah hissed, seizing Teddy's bat from him.

"Sarah, I'll be fine..."

"You're not going down there alone, Raymond!" she said. Ray started to argue, but one look at her face shut him up. He knew that Sarah was not going to compromise this time.

"All right, lets go!" Teddy said, punching the air.

"You, young man, stay right here," Sarah said, pushing him into their room, and shutting the door. She and Ray started down the hallway, Bats held aloft. They slowly slipped down the stairs. Sarah shifted into the dining room, while Ray headed off towards the living room. He stopped by the door for a moment, and checked the alarm. It was set. He thought so, he remembered doing so.

She peered around the dark room, and then headed into the kitchen. She felt for the light switch, and turned them on. The kitchen was flooded with light, but Sarah was alone. She sighed, and turned them back off. She reached to push open the kitchen door...

"HEY!" she heard Ray scream. She ran out of the kitchen, and towards the sound of his voice. She found him in the back of the house, in his office.

"Ray, what's wrong?" He switched the lamp on his desk on.

"There was somebody here!" he yelled. "I saw them! The shadow, any way..."

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know, they just... vanished."

"Well they couldn't have just vanished, Ray. They must have snuck out through the screen door." She said, running towards the deck.

"Sarah, he'd have set off the alarm!" he called after her, as she unlocked it, and threw it open. A loud siren screeched through the house. Ray glared at his wife, who just shrugged.

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An hour later, the three Hamilton's were being questioned by the police, who had shown up after the alarm went off. The lights outside their windows were quite irritating. The police had searched the house for clues, but hadn't found anything. The doors were all locked, no windows ajar, no other signs of forced entry. Nothing had been stolen, and there was no indication that there had been an intruder at all.

"Now what time did you here these noises?" one of the officers asked, looking up from his note pad.

"It was around eleven, I think. A few minutes before the alarm went off," Sarah said.

"And it was you who set off the alarm, is that correct, Mrs. Hamilton?"

"Yes, that's right. I thought they might have run out the back door, and I wasn't aware that the alarm was still active..."

The cop looked suspicious. "Why wouldn't you be aware of that, Mrs. Hamilton? Isn't it set every night?"

"We thought it might be malfunctioning, because it didn't go off when the intruder entered," Ray said, putting his arm around his wife. The officer nodded, and pocketed his notebook.

"Well, I don't know how much we can do, truth be told. If you didn't get a look at the intruder, and we can't find any evidence of a break in, we really don't have much to go on for an investigation. I'd recommend having someone come out and check on the alarm tomorrow. Other than that, if there was nothing stolen, and nobody was hurt, I think we're done here.

"Well goodnight. Thank you for everything," Ray said, getting to his feet and shaking the man's hand. The officer tipped his hat to Sarah, and left the house.

"I suppose we all better head back to bed," Ray said. "Busy day tomorrow."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep after all this," Sarah said, standing up. Teddy followed suit, and the family headed for the stairs. Then the doorbell rang.

"Who do you suppose that could be at this hour?" Ray mused aloud, as he walked to the door. He opened it, revealing Ian, who was looking worried.

"Ian, what are you doing here?" Teddy asked, running to greet his older brother.

"I was driving by, and I saw the squad cars pulling out. What happened?" he asked.

"We had a break in, son," Ray said, stepping aside to let him in.

"Is everyone okay?"

"We're all fine, and nothing was stolen," Sarah said. "What were you doing out so late?"

"I had a date," Ian said coldly. "We went to a late movie." Sarah glared at him. She looked past him and saw a passenger in the car, and got a rather wicked idea. He wanted to treat her like the evil stepmother? She'd show HIM evil stepmother.

"Well, if every things all right, I'll just head home then," Ian said, giving his brother a hug, and heading out the door. Teddy yawned, and slugged up the stairs, mumbling his good nights as he went.

"Sarah, I'll be up in a few minutes," Ray said, walking into the kitchen. "I need a drink."

Sarah nodded, then ran out the door, running full speed, hoping to catch Ian and his date before they left. She ran right into the driver's side door, and knocked on the window. The window rolled down, and Ian looked out, surprised.

"What?" he asked.

"I just wanted to meet your friend!" she said in a falsely cheery voice. The attractive blond girl sitting beside Ian flashed her a bright smile. "Hi, I'm Ian's stepmother, Sarah."

"Hi, I'm Lisa!" the girl said, extending a perfectly manicured hand. Sarah shook it enthusiastically.

"Well I'm so very glad to meet you Lisa. Is Ian taking you home? Isn't he just the perfect little gentleman?" She said, grabbing Ian's cheek. He glared at her.

"No, we're going to have some drinks at his place." Lisa said. Sarah grinned.

"Well that's just great! You kids have fun, and you be sure to be safe!" she cooed. Ian's glare had turned into a look of utmost horror. Sarah backed away from the car, waving as Ian sped out the driveway.

Okay, so she had come off as more annoying little sister as opposed to evil stepmother, but no matter. She was certain that Ian would think twice before being rude to her again. She hummed lightly to herself as she went back inside. She walked up the stairs, and into her bedroom. Ray was still downstairs, having his drink.

She removed her bathrobe, and hung it up in the closet. She turned back to her bed, and something caught her eye.

A small yellow envelope lay on her pillow. She picked it up, and inspected it. It was made of heavy parchment, and on the back was a red wax seal. She opened it, and took out a small note written on the same parchment. A chill ran up her spine as she read the delicate scrawl:

_Dearest Sarah,_

_We shall soon be together at last. Trust in me, and I will take you to a place you've only dreamed of._

_Watching you always, waiting for the moment when you will be mine._

She felt ill. She sunk down on the bed, rereading the note. No name, just this terrifying and disturbing message. How had it gotten here? It couldn't have been here while the police where doing their search, they'd have seen it. She thought about Ray, and the call he had received earlier that day. Could the caller, the intruder, and the person who left this all be the same person?

She heard Ray coming up the stairs, and quickly shoved the letter into the drawer of her nightstand. She lay down, and buried her head in the pillows. Ray turned off the lights, and climbed into the bed with Sarah.

"Night," he said, checking his alarm clock.

"Goodnight," she said. She lay there a long time, long after Ray had fallen asleep. She lay there awake, fearing for herself and her baby, and didn't drift off to sleep for several hours.

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A/N: Yay! Update! I'm proud of myself for FINALLY getting this done. Thank you very much for reading. Please review. I always appreciate the feedback.

I'll update soon, in honor of Halloween.


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